November 24, 2017 — Conservation groups reacted with outrage after the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) concluded its annual conference, as the member nations decided to increase catch limits on bluefin tuna.
ICCAT’s decision to raise eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin limits to 36,000 tons by 2020 represents a 50 percent increase from current levels. The move prompted fears the species that was threatened due to years of overfishing may face peril yet again, according to Alessandro Buzzi, a WWF fisheries project manager.
“We have been fighting for the last 10 years to save bluefin tuna, we are so near recovery that it is a scandal to see ICCAT going back to business as usual; this could jeopardize all the progress we’ve made,” Buzzi said.
In a statement, the commission said it was following the advice of its scientific committee to grant the “considerable” increase. The limit will be raised gradually over the next three years, with next year’s limit set at 28,200 tons.
In addition, a tentative agreement on next year’s quota share was reached, with discussions on future years set to take place in March.
“While a larger pie to share should have led to greater possibilities of consensus, the demands by those who already had a quota for a larger slice made negotiations tougher than ever,” the commission said.
Officials with The Pew Charitable Trusts said the decisions made during the conference were among the “poorest” in a long time.
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